Our Place in Walla Walla #3: Connections Conference

The Walla Walla Valley is home to many people committed to building a more just, inclusive and accessible community for those who live here now and those who will live here in the future. Some of these civic-minded residents are imagining social structures and practices that can lift up new and emerging organizations that center historically marginalized people in the Valley.

On Friday Oct. 6, Whitman students are invited to spend the day with nearly 100 local leaders from BIPOC communities as well as white allies to build relationships to open up creative thinking about our Valley’s transformation. This event—the Connections Conference, sponsored by the Running Water Equity Fund (RWEF)—will catalyze innovative thinking about what Walla Walla can become.

RWEF Executive Director Rodney Outlaw recently shared that the Fund “is dedicated to fostering diversity and inclusion by creating opportunities for individuals from diverse backgrounds to come together, learn, grow and connect. We are thrilled to announce our inaugural conference which will serve as a pivotal moment in our mission.” Importantly, the Fund focuses on investing in organizations that work towards addressing systemic inequities within the community.” Rodney is also the Executive Director of Walla Walla Music Organization and the Community Engagement Specialist for the Walla Walla Symphony.

On October 6 an extraordinary line-up of women leaders will teach us about new ways of working for community justice. We will learn from Michele Storms, Executive Director at American Civil Liberties Union of Washington; Kola Shippentower Thompson (CTUIR), founder of the Wisawca Project; Kaelyn Pyke, social innovator and DEI trainer; and Sally Eck, Portland State University faculty member and anti-oppression activist.

Topics that will be addressed include: interrupting oppression, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, unpacking collective trauma and moving forward, and others. There will be ample time to meet local leaders and create new ties to the Walla Walla leadership community. All this AND an awesome live DJ, Emily Song, and dinner to wrap up the day!

Including Whitman students is key to the Valley’s future. Rodney Outlaw noted, “Our primary goal is to amplify voices from all walks of life, ensuring that a wide spectrum of perspectives is represented at the conference. This includes active participation from our student leaders on college campuses, who play a crucial role in shaping the future of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.“

Thanks to generous support from Whitman’s Office of the President, up to 20 students will be able to participate at no cost (registration is $100). Transportation to and from campus to the event location (in town) will be provided and there will be a dinner discussion the evening before to talk about how to make the most of the conference. Students who want to join this unique gathering should note that it takes place during 4-Day (October Break) and so students will want to make arrangements to be in Walla Walla.

The Connections Conference will be action-oriented. Norma Hernandez is the Board Chair of RWEF. (Norma also serves the Mayor of the City of College Place and is the Executive Director of The Health Center). She reflected: “This Conference is our way of getting the conversations of inequities out, instead of allowing them to stay within the walls of homes, businesses, employers, schools, churches, government and organizations. We need to stop thinking that our well-intended discussion and policies are changing anything and really take a deep look into our own biases.”

This event presents such a fantastic opportunity for students that a cross-campus group has come together to get the word out, including Tebraie Banda-Johns (Director of the Intercultural Center), NiQo Bullock (Associate Director of Student Activities), Jeanine Gordon (Special Assistant to the President for Native American Outreach), Abby Juhasz (Director for Community Engagement) and myself. The collaboration of this wide-ranging group of campus leaders hopefully signals how compelling we know this gathering will be.

The creative and disruptive philanthropic work of Running Waters Equity Fund, and the Connections Conference itself, is possible thanks to investment from the Inatai Foundation, whose mission is to “transform the balance of power to ensure equity and racial justice across Washington and beyond.” As a terrific Whitman connection, Dean of Students Kazi Joshua was elected to the Inatai Board this past summer and is enthusiastic about the possibilities that this gathering offers Whitman students.

Norma Hernandez points out, “America is a great country, one that I am most blessed and grateful to be part of. I hear people saying that they are feeling forced to think this way or that way and that they are tired of being made to feel bad about themselves because of the past. What I hope we will come to understand is that it’s not just the past that is oppressive and ugly; there is plenty happening right here right now and if we refuse to acknowledge it, we have not moved on from our past.”

Our place is vibrant and changing and open to new ideas and possibilities. October 6 is shaping up to be a historical moment in the history of this community. Whitties, we’d love to spend October 6 with you making history (and having fun)! A short application form is here. Make the change you want to see in the world, right here in Walla Walla!